[Lore] Factions on a craftworld

[Doctor Perils]

I am currently trying to figure out the lore for my DIY craftworld, and how to fit paint schemes and detachments together for the game.

 

However, I've come across a question I'm not sure I've ever had an answer for - within a craftworld, what are the typical factions one may find? Would these be mostly of a political, religious or even esoteric nature? Could they feasibly provide their own military forces? Would they be intrinsically linked to specific paths, or would they cut across path "boundaries"? Would they take on their own names, symbols and liveries, or would they stay more hidden, lurking in the shadows?

 

I can think of two prominent examples from Craftworld Iyanden: there are the noble houses; and there are the Ynnead cultists (even prior to the creation of the Avatar). I still don't really know many details about the noble houses though, are they mostly like west-european feudal nobility? Are most Iyanden eldar part of the houses or just a chosen few?

 

 

As a linked, but separate question, how are craftworld military forces organised - do they have a formal pattern like space marine companies or Kabalite shards and such, or are they more and hoc formations? Do these patterns stay the same whatever the combat, or do they take different shapes depending on whether the force is defending their craftworld, a maidenworld, attacking enemy forces etc. ? Are there any heraldic differences to mark out different strike forces etc.?

[Brother Tyler]

Setting aside the Aspect Warrior Shrines (who appear to form the mainstay of most craftworlds' standing armies), the Ynnari, and unorthodox craftworlds like Saim-Hann, I would guess that there are political divisions between factions of the Asuryani, but that these tend to be much less divisive than we see with factions of the Imperium.

The existence of houses appears to be somewhat common to the Asuryani, as evidenced by the name tables in the Kill Team Core Rulebook. We know that there were nobles in the pre-Fall Aeldari civilization based on the background for the Drukhari and the Eldar Corsairs. My guess is that the concept of noble houses has been preserved (though perhaps modified over time and in different ways across different craftworlds) among the modern Asuryani. Whether or not all "houses" are nobles is unknown. There definitely appear to be some form of commoners. In this, I envision the Asuryani to be very much like the Tolkien Eldar upon which they are modeled.

Judging by the Iyanden supplement, the houses provide units of their members (and followers?) to the craftworld's military endeavors. The Iyanden supplement depicts this with ghost warriors, but it's likely that other craftworlds follow similar practices with their living Aeldari. In this, warriors from a house might (or might not) bear the glyph of their house upon their armour somewhere. This would be the division that corresponds with a Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes. In addition, we've seen graphics depicting squad identifiers such as coloration of helmets, marks upon helmets, plumes, etc. In this way, an Asuryani warhost might include multiple "1st" Guardian Defender Squads, each coming from a different house. I recall old lore (1st/2nd edition) about [some] Guardian squads being formed from groups of friends and relatives. That allows for either stable or ad hoc units. In some cases, the same groups might participate in multiple battles together, forming a stable group. Since the Asuryani follow different paths throughout their lives, however, there are probably times when some members of a friend/family group might not be available because they're on some other path (perhaps serving in an Aspect Warrior shrine). In such cases we're likely to see different members fleshing out a squad, or multiple under-strength squads consolidating. The exception here might be with craftworlds like Ulthw

[BloodyB]

I think if there were divisions in political terms aboard a craft world, it might be helpful to look at known controversies within Aeldari society. Many Eldar consider the nightspinner to be almost sacrilege, but Biel-Tann still puts them to use, might a craft world of a less militaristic bent have some members that seek to follow Biel-Tann's example? Would there be those seeking greater action against specific targets, such as the Deathwatch or similar threats, while more moderate voices seek to manipulate them instead?

 

Furthermore, many Eldar seek the means to find or rediscover the methods the ancient Aeldari empire used to make new paths and gates in the webway, but surely some are opposed to poking around the Croneworlds and risk exposure to Slaanesh? And even if they all agree to look, where to begin looking? I think this might be a cause for some Eldar to embrace the Ranger path.

 

And what about the Exodite worlds? The Eldar cannot defend each one, so few in number as they are, so what happens when the leadership decides to leave Uncle Dave, Exodite farmer beyond compare, to the tender mercies of a Fleshtearer with a (chain)axe to grind? I doubt that everyone is happy aboard a craft world. That said, I doubt the divisions often reach the levels they do in the Imperium, thouh I don't doubt that death is common either.

 

In a people as emotional and grudge-bearing as the Eldar, I can see deaths occuring in honour duels and assassination due to relatively mild insults and insinuations. Which only makes me wonder, who would be the assassin?

 

One minute an Aeldari maiden is smiling at a courtship, the next a Howling Banshee is fleeing a rapidly cooling corpse, or a simple meditation session is interrupted by the arrival of a powerfist wielding green dude, just teleporting in to your secure Zen garden. Or worse, an aspiring Incubi is invited by your foes to slip away with your spirit stone, leaving the way clear for your spoilt cousin to take up place as a Dire Avenger in your stead? Now I am interested in learning more about something I am only guessing at even existing.

 

Edit: Autocorrect done did me dirty.

Edited December 11, 2021 by BloodyB

[Galron]

Ill leave the political class differences between you guys. As for the military set up, the Guardian forces which form the majority of the home defense would be organized. There should be a group on active duty at any given time for craftworld patrols and so forth, maybe they are active for a few months or years at a time. If something were to happen requiring mobilization of ground troops then this active group, if they bring any guardians along at all, would be the group they send from. The vast majority of the population would be assigned to a militia unit and if the balloon went up then they would get called back into service. Things like what happened at Iyanden where the entire craftworld was invaded are relatively rare and a full call up of every swinging....ear, might only happen a few times in a lifetime if that many. Realistically the elves in charge know that not only are the citizens the entire purpose and future of their craftworld, but they also kind of suck as ground troops compared to the professionals and would be loath to commit them to battle unless it was a life or death of the craftworld situation.

 

It would likely be a case where the individual officers and squad leaders in these guardian companies would be former aspect warriors who walked the path for awhile but didnt get consumed by it like the exarchs and went back to civilian jobs. That way they bring their experience with them to try and stiffen up the basic civilians militia squads. Just my opinion, also doesnt account for Ulthwé whose guardians are on a completely different level than everyone else's.

Edited December 13, 2021 by Galron

[Slasher956]

Depends...I mean one of the US' first wars was to attack canada with militia*

You use what you have to hand in the time frame you have... ....I mean do you wait until the aspect warriors have the strength or do you call up the guardians to strike the mon-keigh outpost where the doom of <insert exodite word> is born before the Imperial Guard turn that world in to a transit garrision world?



*war of 1812, the US attempt to drive the British out of North America whilest they were cought up in fighting Napoleon in Europe....

Edited December 15, 2021 by Slasher956

[Dr. Clock]

So the thing I always come back to when mulling this question for (A)eldar is: think in human terms and then dial everything other than sheer physical strength to 11 or 12.

 

So Factions? Yes, many, but any individual is very likely to have competing priorities based on their current or historical attachments simply because they are so old and multifarious in their interests (over time through their paths).

 

The strongest bonds are likely to be with direct family relations, but the Path system severely limits even those bonds from becoming too fractious as in order to follow a Path one has to build a whole new, focused and potentially obssessed identity to the exclusion of all other ends.

 

Most of the writing we have about quotidian Aeldar life is coloured by the war-like themes of the game, but my guess is that it's not too far off to suggest that the 'war mask' model from the Path novels translates to other Paths as well. Even though most do not get 'lost' on a given Path, individuals 'wear' the roles they take on and must learn to disassociate from their 'true natures' to avoid obsession and damnation.

 

So when aeldar change paths, the relationships they had may remain (the disassociation is not complete), but will certainly be altered.

 

It's also perfectly reasonable to make a given Craftworld's culture and 'factions' more or less powerful depending on how closely they adhere to or value which Paths in general. While it's a core pillar of any Craftworld, societies like Alaitoc or Saim Hann appear to value or embody 'Outcast' (individual) or 'Wild' (family/kin) bonds more than the likes of Biel Tan or Yme-Loc or Ulthwé who place more emphasis on close adherence to specific paths of Asur.

 

In sum, major factions could be related to or formed around families, paths and temples, attitudes about the path system, outside influences/attachments (Exodite/Harlequin/Commoragh), orientation to other races, historical or prestorical(?) events etc.

 

So in answer to OP's Questions: yes, and...

 

Finding ways of having both visual uniformity and diversity at the individual and squad level is definitely within scope of aeldar possibilities, and some of those 'sub-divisions' can appear completely arbitrary from a naive perspective if you have some bigger story in mind. Any eldar force may have its 'warbands' formed across any lines you think appropriate or interesting.

 

For my Ulthwé I stuck with yellow and black for all Aspect schemes, but the dominant/minor split on those two colours changes based on Temple and Aspect. I've also added white, silver, and green or red gems, depending on the unit. So Aspects end up using the same major colours, but in very different ratios. But guardians are a whole other thing... aside from being 'mostly black the yellow helmets', they have lots of different helmet designs and random flash markings because the idea is that they are have 'more individualized' war masks even though they operate together in a big unit.

 

But then there is a host of units that are 'Worldless Exodite Corsairs' and have a completely different orange/blue/gold scheme. So my Falcon, about a dozen 'guardians', six wind riders and two kitbashed hornets and a kitbashed Nightwing (lol) are all in that scheme... which is mostly the same as my 'Drukhari' units who are also narratively 'Worldless Exodite Corsairs'.

 

So my advice is usually to paint what feels good and then make up a reason for it later.

 

Cheers,

 

The Good Doctor.